Those who swallow down
interest cannot stand except as one whom Satan has confounded with
(his) touch does stand. That is because they say, trade is only
like interest. And Allah has allowed trade and forbidden interest. To
whomsoever then the admonition has come from his Lord, then he desists,
for him shall be what has already passed, and his affair rests with Allah;
and whoever returns (to it) - these are the inmates of the fire;
they shall abide in it (275). Allah effaces interest, and He causes
charities to grow; and Allah does not love any ungrateful sinner (276).
Surely they who believe and do good deeds and establish prayer and pay the
poor-rate they shall have their reward with their Lord and they shall have
no fear, nor shall they grieve (277). 0 you who believe! fear Allah and
forgo what remains (due) from interest, if you
are believers (278). But if you do (it)
not, then be apprised of war from Allah and His
Apostle; and if you repent, then you shall have your capital; neither
shall you deal unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly (279). And
if (the debtor) is in
straitened circumstances, then let there be respite until (he is in) ease; and that you remit
(it) as alms is better for
you, if you knew (280). And fear the day in which you shall be returned to
Allah; then every soul shall be paid back in full what it has earned, and
they shall not be dealt with unjustly (281).

GENERAL COMMENT

These
verses were revealed to emphasize the prohibition of interest and to put
strong pressure on the interest takers; they are not the verses that
originally legislated the prohibition of interest; their language is not
that of legislation. The law forbidding interest was ordained most
probably by the following verse of the third chapter

0 you
who believe! do not devour interest, making it double and redouble, and
fear Allah, that you may succeed (3:130).

Also look
at one of the verses under discussion: “0 you who believe! fear Allah and
forgo what remains (due) from interest, if you are believers”. It shows
that the Muslims, even after the previous prohibition, sometimes took
interest; and therefore Allah ordered them to desist from this practice
and to remit that part of the interest which remained due from the
debtors. With this background, the meaning of the following sentence
becomes quite clear : “To whomsoever then the admonition has come from his
Lord, then he desists, for him shall be what has already passed, and his
affair rests with Allah . . .”

Even long
before the verse of the third chapter, a Meccan chapter (the
30th), had condemned the practice of taking interest: And
whatever you lay out as interest, so that it may increase in the
properties of men, it shall not increase with Allah; and whatever you give
in charity, desiring Allah’s pleasure - it is these (persons) that
shall get manifold (30:39).

It shows that
interest was a thing abhorred since the early days of the Call, before the
hijrah; then it was clearly forbidden in the third chapter; and
finally it was most forcefully condemned and denounced in these seven
verses (under discussion), the style of which clearly shows that interest
was forbidden long before they were revealed. It also proves that these
seven verses were revealed after the third chapter.

Moreover,
interest was prohibited in Judaism, as Allah says about the Jews: And
their (Jews’) taking interest, though indeed forbidden were they
against it (4:161); and also He says quoting them: this is because
they say: there is nothing upon us in the matter of the unlearned people
(3:75). Add to it the fact that the Qur’an verified their book and did
not abrogate this law. All of this together was enough to make the Muslims
understand that interest was prohibited and forbidden in Islam.

These verses
of interest have some connection with the preceding verses of spending in
the way of Allah. And this connection has been clearly pointed out in
these verses: for example, “Allah effaces interest and He causes charities
to grow”; “and that you remit (it) as alms is better for you”. Likewise
the verse of the thirtieth chapter contrasts it with alms; and that of the
third chapter is followed by praise of spending, exhorting the believers
to spend benevolently in the way of Allah.

Moreover,
reason also recognizes the contrast and mutual opposition of interest and
charity. Interest is taking without giving anything in exchange; charity
is giving without taking anything in exchange. The evils emanating from
interest are poles apart from the good effects of charity. Charity spreads
mercy and love, strengthens the morale of the poor members of society,
increases wealth, maintains good social order, and then as a result of
mutual love and respect, peace reigns over the land. The evils resulting
from interest are exactly opposite to these good effects.

Allah has,
in these verses, condemned interest in the most emphatic words. No other
deed has been condemned in such a harsh tone. The only exception is
befriending the enemies of religion, which also has been execrated with
equal force. All other major sins have been condemned emphatically in the
Qur’an, but the level of their condemnation is far below that used for
these two evils. Not only fornication, liquor and gambling, but even more
grievous sins like murder and creating mischief in the earth seem milder
than these two - interest and making friends with the enemies of religion.
Why? The reason is very clear. The bad effects of the above-mentioned sins
remain mostly confined to individuals, one or more; further, they impair
only some particular psychological traits of the doer.

But these
two evils bring such destruction in their wake that religion is uprooted
and even its signs are obliterated; the life-line of human social order is
severed; human nature is over­powered by their harmful intoxication,
and it loses all its control over the people’s thinking and action.

History has
shown why the Qur’an had spoken so forcefully against befriending the
enemies of religion and against interest. Look at the pitiable condition
of the Muslim countries. They started adulating the enemies of Islam,
making friends with them and adoring them. They inclined psychologically
towards them. And now we see the result: they have fallen down into the
pit of perdition; they are plundered and pillaged by the same “beloved”
enemies; they have no control over their own destiny; they have lost their
wealth, their honor and even their identity; they deserve neither death
nor life; they are not allowed to die, and they are not given any
breathing space to enjoy the bounties of life. Religion has departed from
there, and virtue abandoned them long ago.

As for
interest, it caused the treasures of the earth to be concentrated in few
select houses, and the wealth to be hoarded by the takers of interest. The
money gave them power over other less fortunate human beings. It was the
real cause of the world wars. It divided mankind into two opposing groups:
the wealthy who enjoy all the blessings of life, and the poor who find it
difficult to meet their barest necessities. The grouping has already
appeared. It is a calamity which has shaken the earth and leveled the
mountains. It is threatening humanity with downfall and the world with
destruction. Then evil was the end of those who did evil
(30:10).

You will
see that what Allah described about interest and making friends with the
enemies of religion was a forecast of the carnage which has now come
true.

COMMENTARY

QUR'AN:
Those who swallow down interest cannot stand except as one whom
Satan has confounded with (his) touch does stand:

"al-Khabt" means to
walk unevenly; to grope about awkwardly. They say: khabata 'l-ba`ir
(the camel became disorientated in its walk).

Man has a
straight path for his life, from which he normally does not deviate. He
acts according to the norms of the society in which he lives; those norms
are based on reasonable ideas, and man tries to fit his individual and
social activities to them. He eats when he is hungry, drinks when thirsty,
desires rest when tired, and looks for shelter when staying somewhere, and
so on. He feels happy with some things, and becomes annoyed with others.
When he wants some task done, he produces its cause, and when he needs an
effect, he brings about its necessary ingredients.

This, in
short, is man's normal way of life - the actions related to the ideas, in
a well-balanced relationship. Man was guided to this straight path by a
power ingrained in his nature, the power that discriminates between good
and bad, differentiates between beneficial and harmful, and distinguishes
virtue from evil.

But a man
whose discriminating power is confounded sees no difference between good
and bad, between beneficial and harmful and between virtue and evil. He
treats every thing like its opposite. It is not because he has forgotten
the meaning of good and bad - after all, he is a human being who has his
own freewill and choice, and a man can only do a man’s deeds. Rather, it
happens because he believes evil to be virtue, and virtue to be evil. He
is, in short, confused and confounded; he applies the rules in completely
wrong places, and does not know which demands which.

It is not
that he always treats the normal as abnormal and vice versa. If it were
so, he would have at least been consistent in his misjudgments. We could
have said that he had some organized way of thinking, although he applied
his judgments in a wrong way. But he has not even this consistency. Good
and bad, virtue and evil, normal and abnormal, all are equal in his eyes.
Whatever he wants at a given moment is to be done and obtained - like a
camel that has become disorientated; he starts walking forward, no matter
which direction he happens to face at that time; he has lost his bearing,
and normal and abnormal are the same to him.

This is,
then, the condition of the interest-taker.

What do we
mean by interest? It is giving a thing and later taking back a similar
thing plus an increase. Social life is based on a sound principle.
Let us say that Zayd has a property in excess of his needs, and he needs
something else which Bakr has got. Now Zayd may give his excess property
to Bakr and take in exchange Bakr’s property (which, incidentally, is in
excess of Bakr’s requirements). It is trade and it is the dictate of human
nature.

But giving
a property and taking back a similar thing with some increase nullifies
the demands of nature and destroys the basis of the economy. The property
is snatched from the hands of the debtor, and accumulates in the coffers
of the interest taker. The interest-taker’s wealth grows and grows; but
the growth is achieved by adding another man’s wealth. Thus wealth goes on
decreasing and diminishing, on the one side, and increasing and
accumulating on the other.

The debtor
who has to pay interest is burdened with that much extra expenditure; as
the days pass, he goes on paying interest, without getting anything in
exchange; his need of more and more money increases and he is caught in a
vicious circle - he must borrow ever more to fulfill his normal needs as
well as to pay the ever-increasing expense of interest. Thus his life is
ruined.

Interest
is, therefore, diametrically opposed to the balance and equilibrium of
society; it destroys that system which man had created with the guidance
of the Divine Creation.

So, this is
the interest-taker, confounded like the one touched by Satan. Taking
interest makes his reason topsy-turvy; he sees no difference between
normal and abnormal, between trade and interest. When he is told to leave
interest and stick to trade, he says: “Trade is only like interest; it has
no superiority over interest; why should I leave interest and stick to
trade?” That is why Allah showed his confusion by quoting his reply,
“trade is only like interest”.

From the
above discourse, the following matters become quite clear

First: The word
“standing” in the phrase, “cannot stand except as one whom Satan has
confounded with (his) touch does stand”, means “managing” one’s life and
“looking after” one’s livelihood. It is one of the meanings of “standing”
which people generally use in their speech. Allah says: . . . so that
men may stand with justice (57:25); . . . the heavens and the earth
stand by His command (30:25); . . . and that you should stand for
the orphans with justice (4:127). This word has not been used here
with the meaning of “standing up” (i.e., as opposed to “sitting”), because
such an interpretation would not fit the topic, and the meaning of the
verse would not be correct.

Second: “Confoundedness
of the touched one in standing” does not refer to the involuntary
movements of an epileptic during or after an attack of epilepsy, as some
commentators have written. Such a meaning would have no relevance to the
topic at hand. Allah has given us the simile of the interest-taker who
does not differentiate between trade and interest, and who acts according
to that idea. This is done by his own choice and will - the choice that is
based on his confused thinking. There is nothing in it like the
involuntary convulsions of an epileptic. This phrase, in short, means that
the interest-taker manages the affairs of his life and livelihood as does
the one whom Satan has confounded with his touch.

Third: There is a fine
point in saying “they say, trade is only like interest” instead of saying
“interest is only like trade”. The reason for choosing the former
expression may be understood from the above explanations. For an
interest-taker, normal and abnormal are both alike. We shall explain it in
detail later on.

Fourth: The similitude,
that is, “as one whom Satan has confounded with (his) touch”, gives a hint
that this may happen sometimes in cases of lunacy. The verse does not say
that every madness is caused by the touch of Satan; but it indicates that
some cases of lunacy are the result of Satan’s touch. Further, the verse
does not say that this touching is done by Iblis himself, because Satan
means the evil one; this word (Satan) is used for Iblis as well as for
other evil ones among the jinn and human beings. And Iblis is from the
jinn. What looks certain from this Qur’anic hint is that the jinn are
instrumental in the madness of some persons, if not of all.

Some
commentators have opined that this simile is not based on any fact. People
in those days believed that lunacy was caused by the touch of the jinn;
and Allah used that belief of their’s for this similitude; it is just
talking to people in their own language. There is, of course, no harm in
it, because it is just a similitude; it does not confirm that common
belief. Such a comparison is not wrong just because the thing has no
actual existence. What the verse, therefore, means is simply this: ‘These
swallowers of interest are like a lunatic who is confounded by the touch
of Satan.’ It is against belief in the Justice of Allah to say that
madness could be caused by the touch of Satan. Allah is Just; He cannot
give Satan authority to overpower the intellect of His servant, or to
subdue His believing servant.

But this
opinion has many flaws:

1) Allah is too Great to
insert any vain or incorrect promise in His talk without, indicating its
invalidity. Allah has said about His Book: and most surely it is a
Mighty Book; falsehood shall not come to it from before it nor from behind
it; a revelation from the Wise, the Praised One (41:41-42); Most
surely it is a decisive word, and it is no joke (86:13-14).

2)He
says that it is against belief in the Justice of Allah to say that Satan
can manipulate and disturb the intellect of a person, and can turn him
into a lunatic. Well, is it not against belief in the Justice of Allah to
say that lunacy occurs because of natural causes? Are not the natural
causes created by Allah? And yet they do disturb the mind of man.

The fact is
that there is no problem in believing that Allah allows the mind of man to
be disturbed - no matter through which agency it is done. Because Allah at
once removes all responsibilities away from such man. Of course, there
could be a problem if his thinking power were taken away and still the
responsibilities of a sane person were imposed on that man. Also it would
be against belief in the Justice of Allah to say that Satan can
manipu­late a sane man in such a way that, in spite of his sanity, he
sees truth, falsehood and virtue as evil and vice versa.

But there
would be no problem if a man’s intellect is disturbed or ceases to exist
provided the responsibilities of sanity are also removed from him - no
matter whether the disturbance occurred through natural causes or through
Satan’s touch.

Moreover, when
we attribute madness to the touch of Satan we do not mean that he
confounds the intellect directly without any middle cause. Rather, we
believe that natural causes, like nervous disorders and psychological
disturbances are the near causes, and Satan is a cause beyond these
causes. Likewise, many miracles are attributed to the angels, although
there occur natural causes in between. An example of this may be seen in
two verses both of which quote Ayyub (a.s.) beseeching his Lord after his
affliction. In one verse he says: Satan has afflicted me with toil and
torment (38:41); and in the other he says: Harm has
afflicted me and Thou art the Most Merciful of the merciful
(21:83). “Harm” here refers to his sickness; and sickness has
its own natural causes. See how, in the first verse, he attributes his
sickness, caused by natural causes, to Satan.

The
root of the trouble is this: When the materialists hear us attributing
events to Allah (or attributing some happenings to the spirit, to an angel
or to Satan) they think that it amounts to a rejection of natural causes,
and that it sets metaphysical agencies in the place of physical causes.
They should be somehow made to understand that by such declarations we add
one more (metaphysical) link at the farther end of the chain of (physical)
causes. We do not replace the physical causes with metaphysical ones. (We
have mentioned this fact in previous discussions several times.)

Fifth: Also, it is
wrong to say, as some other exegetes have done, that the similitude aims
at describing the state of interest-takers on the Day of Resurrection; and
that they will rise from their graves on that day like an epileptic who is
afflicted by madness.

Evidently,
the verse does not support this meaning. The tradition which describes the
condition of interest-takers is about the Day of Resurrection; it does not
purport to explain the similitude of this verse.

It is
written in al-Manar (Tafsir): “The similitude, that one who
swallows interest stands like one who has been confounded by the touch of
Satan, has been explained by Ibn ‘Atiyyah as follows: ‘The aim is to show
the likeness of the interest-taker in this world to the one who is
confounded and afflicted with epilepsy; as it is said about the man who is
convulsed with various involuntary movements, that he has gone mad.’

“I say (the
author of al-Manar): This is the meaning which comes into my
mind on reading this verse. But a major group of commentators have gone
against it. They have said: ‘The standing mentioned in the verse refers to
the rising from the grave at the time of resurrection; that Allah has made
it a sign of the interest­takers on the Day of Resurrection that they
shall be raised like epileptics.’ They have narrated it from Ibn ‘Abbas
and Ibn Mas‘ud. and at-Tabarani has narrated a tradition of ‘Awf ibn Malik
(which he has referred to the Prophet): ‘Beware of the sins that shall not
be forgiven: embezzlement, so whoever embezzles anything, shall be brought
with it on the Day of Resurrection; and interest, so whoever swallows
interest shall be raised on the Day of Resurrection as a lunatic who
gropes hither and thither aimlessly.’ “

(The author
of al-Manar goes on saying:) “The commonly under­stood meaning
is the one given by Ibn ‘Atiyyah, because when the word ‘standing’ is
used, one generally understands it to mean managing some affairs; and
there is no association to show that it refers to the rising from grave.
So far as traditions are concerned none of them is free from one or
another defect in the chains of narrators; and those traditions were not
revealed together with the Qur’an, nor does the al-marfu’
(tradition raised to the Prophet) purport to interpret this verse. (It
only talks about the condition of interest-takers on the Day of
Resurrection, without mentioning this verse.) And had not this tradition
been there no-one would have interpreted this verse except in the way Ibn
‘Atiyyah has done . . . And it was the custom of the forgers of
traditions, when they were perplexed by the apparent meaning of a Qur’anic
verse, to forge a tradition to explain it; and there are few exegetical
traditions that are really correct.”

He is right
when he exposes the mistake of the exegetes. But he himself has gone wrong
when he tries to explain the meaning of this similitude. He says: “What
Ibn ‘Atiyyah has said is quite clear. Those who are entangled in the love
of wealth do become its slave. Their whole existence revolves around
money; they want wealth for the sake of wealth. They have abandoned the
natural means of earning, and have concentrated on earning money through
money only. In this way, their souls deviate from the straight path of
moderation on which most of the people are. This immoderation, this loss
of equilibrium, shows itself in their movements and actions. Look at the
speculators on the stock exchange or compulsive gamblers; the more they
indulge in these activities the more they become entangled in it, until a
time comes when their behavior becomes illogical, and their movements
disorientated. It is this aspect which is the common factor between their
activities and the movements of confounded lunatics. The Arabic word
translated as “has confounded” is derived from al-khabt which means
disorganized movement.”

The author’s
comment: To say that the interest-takers’ movement become
disorientated and disorganized is correct in itself. But interest-taking
is not the only cause of such disorien­tation. This occurs when man
forgets that he is a servant of his Creator and Master, and when material
pleasure becomes his only goal - and this is the final reach of his
knowledge! Then he loses self-control (which come through religion) and
sobriety of demeanor. And he gets at once affected by every big or small
worldly pleasure; and this results in a disorientation of his movements.
It may be observed in any person who is immersed in worldly pleasure, and
who has forgotten Allah, even if he has not taken a single penny as
interest all his life.

Nor is that
disorientation the purpose of this similitude. The proof, given in the
verse, of their being confounded does not fit this supposed purpose of the
similitude. Allah says that they are confounded in their standing,
“because they say, trade is only like interest”. If that disorientation of
their behavior was the purpose of the similitude, it would have been more
appropriate to prove it by their disorganized actions and disorderly
movements.

Obviously,
what we have described in explanation of this simile and about its
purpose, is the only reasonable interpretation.

QUR’AN:That is
because they say, trade is only like interest:

We have
already described why trade was likened to interest, and not interest to
trade. A man confounded in his thinking and disorientated in his movements
is in an abnormal condition. Good and bad, virtue and evil are both the
same to him. If you tell him to leave the bad deed that he is doing and to
do the good, he will reply to you - if he replies - that what you tell him
to do is like that which you are forbidding him; that has no preference
over this.

Now note
the difference. If he had said, “what you forbid me to do is like that
which you tell me to do”, he could not be said to be confounded or mad. At
the most he would have been called a sane person who is mistaken in his
view. Why? Because his reply would have shown that he knows that the thing
ordered is good and should be done; but he mistakenly thinks that the
forbidden thing also is good like the former. In other words, heknows and appreciates the superiority of good actions. He does

not think that nothing is good or bad, or that all
are equal.

Interest-takers say that trade is like interest.
It shows that they have lost their bearings; they do not accept that trade
has any superiority over interest. If they had said “interest is like
trade”, it would have meant that they were not confounded, they knew that
trade was a good thing; but they thought that interest too was good like
trade. In that case, they could have been called rejectors of the
shari ‘ah and sinners against Allah, but not “confounded
like the one touched by Satan”.

Ponder over the sentence, “That is because they
say, trade is only like interest”. Apparently they had not spoken these
words by their tongues; it was their state and behaviour which was crying
out loudly about their thinking. This style of narrating the state as
uttered speech is very common in every language.

Once it is understood, the error of the following
two inter­pretations becomes self-evident

1) Some people have said: The interest-takers said
that trade was like interest, because they treated both in a like manner.
The reason why they reversed the simile and said, “trade is like interest”
was to emphasize - it was as though interest was the main thing and trade
a secondary matter which would become respectable if it was likened to
interest.

All this is out of place. They did not utter this
sentence in words, so that it should require all this
explanation.

2) Someone else has said: Maybe the simile is not
reversed. They thought that trade was allowed so that one might earn
profit. And profit was a certain thing in interest and rather
un­certain in other means of earning. Therefore, they gave primacy to
interest and assigned a secondary place to trade.

The same comment applies here as was written about
the first.

QUR’AN: And Allah has allowed trade and forbidden
interest:

It is a new sentence. It is not in conjunction
with the preceding sentence, and does not show the state of that sentence.
In other words, it does not mean: “they say trade is only like interest,
while Allah has allowed trade and forbidden interest”. If a sentence,
beginning with a verb in the past tense, is inserted to denote the state
of the preceding sentence, it invariably always begins with qad (a prefix, used before past and aorist
tenses) for example, “Zayd came to me” wa qad daraba ‘Umar (when he had beaten
‘Umar). In this verse, the meaning of the preceding sentence does not
allow one to say that this sentence is its ‘state’. The phrase denoting
‘state’ restricts the main sentence to the time and state denoted. If we
treat this sentence as a phrase of state, it would mean: “The
interest-takers’ confoundedness (because of their saying that trade is
only like interest) is confined to the time when Allah allowed trade, and
forbade interest”. But the fact is otherwise. They were confounded before
this legislation as much as they were after it.

Therefore, this is an independent sentence, and
not a phrase of state. Also, this sentence is not the original legislation
forbid­ding interest. As mentioned in the beginning, these verses
evidently show that interest was already prohibited before they were
revealed. They explain and emphasize what was legislated by the following
verse of the third chapter: 0you who believe! do not devour interest making it
double and redouble, and fear Allah, that you may succeed
(3:130).

Therefore, the sentence, “And Allah has allowed
trade. . .” does not ordain a new law; it just refers to a previously
given order, and paves the way for the next sentence, “To whomso­ever
then the admonition has come from his Lord, then he desists, he shall have
what has already passed . . .” This is the apparent meaning of the
verse.

Someone has said: The words, “And Allah has
allowed trade and forbidden interest” are meant to refute the
interest-takers’ assertion, “trade is only like interest”. If their claim
were correct, the legal position of trade and interest would not have been
different from each other in divine legislation, while the fact is that
Allah has allowed one and forbidden the other.

Reply: The argument mentioned above is
correct in itself: but it is not in conformity with the wording of the
verse. It could be correct only if this sentence were a phrase of state.
But it is not so

Someone else has written another explanation: The
sentence.

“And Allah has allowed...", means that the
increase of wealth through trade is not like its increase through
interest, because “I have allowed trade and forbidden interest; and order
is My order, and creatures are My creatures; I ordain about them as I
wish, and make them obey My command in any manner, I please; none among
them has any right to protest against My decision.”

Reply: This also is dependent on the wrong
theory that this sentence is a phrase of state. Moreover, it is based on a
denial of any relationship of cause and effect between religious laws and
their benefits. If you accept this interpretation, you will have to reject
the relationship of cause and effect in the whole universe, and to
attribute every action to Allah without apparent and middle causes.
Evidently such an idea is wrong. Further, this explanation is against the
Qur’anic style. The Qur’an often explains the reason for a given order,
and mentions the general or special benefits emanating from a particular
law. Even in the present instance, various sentences hint at the reason
upon which this rule is based: “. . . and forego what remains (due) from
interest if you are believers”; “neither shall you deal unjustly, nor
shall you be dealt with unjustly”; “Those who swallow down interest . . .
trade is only like interest”. All these hint at the reason why trade has
been allowed: It is in conformity with nature’s demand; and why interest
has been forbidden. First, it is a deviation from the straight path of
life; second, it is not in conformity with belief in Allah; and third, it
is injustice.

QUR’AN: To whomsoever then the admonition has come from
his Lord, then he desists, for him shall be what has already passed, and
his affair rests with Allah; and whoever returns (to it) - these are the inmates of the fire;
they shall abide in it:

These sentences branch out from the preceding
sentence, “And Allah has allowed trade. . . “ The principle laid down in
this statement is not restricted to interest; it is a general rule
although it is mentioned in a particular context. The meaning, therefore,
will be as follows: “What We have told you on the subject of interest, is
an admonition; and to whomsoever the admonition comes from his Lord and he
desists, for him shall be what has already passed and his affair rests
with Allah; accordingly, if you now desist from interest, you shall have
what you have already taken, and your affair rests with Allah”.

It is clear from the above explanation that “the
admonition has come” means “the information of the law ordained by Allah
has reached”; “then he desists” means “then he repents and desists from
the forbidden action”; “for him shall be what has already passed” means
“the ordained law shall not be applied retrospectively, rather it shall be
enforced from the time the information has reached him”; “for him shall be
what has already passed and his affair rests with Allah” means that he
shall not be affected by the ever-lasting punishment mentioned in the next
sentence (and whoever returns [to it] - these are the inmates of
the fire; they shall abide in it). In this way, they shall be allowed
the benefit of their previous action, still their affair is in the hands
of Allah - He may leave them free in some matters, and may sometimes
oblige them to make up for the past shortcomings.

This verse needs special attention. Beginning from
the words “to whosoever then the admonition has come” up to the end of the
verse, in spite of the given concession and the severe threatening, a
basic principle is explained; it is a general law covering all mortal
sins. Yet people have missed this clear point, and have interpreted it as
though it were confined to the topic of interest only.

In view of the above-mentioned generality, the
words, “for him shall be what has already passed, and his affair rests
with Allah”, can be taken only as a general principle - its particulars
depending on the nature of the sin concerned. Whoever desists from a sin
after receiving the admonition from his Lord, shall be forgiven the sins
committed in the past - no matter whether the transgression was against
Allah or against the people. But it does not mean that he shall
automatically be absolved from its other consequences. His affair is in
the hands of Allah: He may prescribe for him some expiation or amendment -
as, for example, if he neglects prayers, he should pray and make up the
arrears; if he did not fast, he should fast the same number of other days;
if he took any property unlawfully, he should return it to the lawful
owner, and he should undergo the prescribed penal sentences in relevant
cases - all this going hand in hand with repentance and desisting from
that sin in the future; and thus the past sins are forgiven. Or, Allah may
forgive the sin altogether, after repent­ance, without imposing any
penalty or expiation - as, for example, when a polytheist repents and
enters into Islam, or when a liquor drinker or a singer repents and
desists from these sins. The words, “To whosoever then the admonition has
come from his Lord, then he desists", are general; they cover all the
believers and unbelievers of the Prophet’s time as well as all those who
came later or shall come afterwards.

“And whoever returns (to it) - these are the
inmates of the Fire; they shall abide in it”: The word, “returns” here is
in contrast to the word, “desists", in the preceding sentence. Therefore,
it means, “does not desist". Thus, it refers to the person who goes on
committing that sin and does not accept the divine command. Such an
attitude exposes the infidelity or apostasy that is hidden in his heart
even if he does not utter a single word to show it. Whoever returns to a
sin and does not desist from it, and does not even feel ashamed of it, has
in fact not submitted to the command of Allah; and he shall never succeed.
Thus the two sides mentioned in this verse are: (1) accepting and obeying
the divine command which creates the resolve that one will not go against
the law; (2) continuing in the sin which proves that one has not accepted
that divine command, which, in its turn, makes one liable to remain in the
Fire for ever.

The Mu’tazilites offer this verse as a proof of
their belief that the one who commits a major sin shall remain in the Fire
forever.

The author’s comment: No doubt that the verse shows that not only the
one who commits a major sin, but anyone who commits any sin, shall remain
in chastisement for ever. But it is conditional; it refers to only that
sinner who commits a sin and does not accept the divine command. And such
a person will admittedly abide in the Fire. But it is different from the
view of the Mu’tazilites.

Other commentators have mentioned many
possibilities and explanations about the words of Allah, “for him shall be
what has already passed", “his affair rests with Allah”, and “whoever
returns . . . “ But all those discussions are based on their erroneous
understanding of the verse (as we have explained earlier). It is not
worthwhile mentioning them here, since their very basis is
wrong.

QUR’AN: Allah effaces interest, and
causes charities to grow...:

"al-Mahq” is gradual decrease and deterioration leading to
extinction; “al- irba‘” is to make grow; “al-athim” is the sinner. The verse contrasts the growing of
charities with the effacement of interest. It has been described earlier
how the growing and multiplication of charities is not confined to the
hereafter; it is its general characteristic which is found in this world
as well as in the hereafter. Therefore, effacement and obliteration of
interest must also be common to this world and the hereafter.

It is the characteristic of charity that it grows
and grows. necessarily and inevitably. It spreads love, propagates mercy.
creates good accord, unites hearts and brings peace and security in
society; it protects the psyche from evil thoughts and anger. The members
of such a society never think to usurp other’s property, or to take it
openly by force, or stealthily by theft. and so forth. Charity leads them
to unity, cooperation and mutual help. As a result, most of the ways in
which property can deteriorate become closed; and it helps in making
property grow, and grow many times.

On the other hand, it is the characteristic of
interest that it gradually obliterates and destroys wealth. It spreads
hard heartedness and cruelty, creates enmity and distrust, destroys peace
and security and incites the “have nots” to take revenge from the “haves"
in any possible way - be it by talk or by action. be it directly or
indirectly; in short, it leads towards disunity and discord. As a result,
most of the ways of deterioration and destruction of the property are
opened; and wealth becomes a target misfortune and calamity.

These two items - charity and interest - have a
direct impact on the life of the poor section of society. Needless to say,
poverty and need inflame their feelings, and they are provoked to defend
their rights and are ready to confront the others, come what may. With
this background, if society treats them with kindness and does good to
them without asking for anything in exchange, their noble feelings are
stirred and they welcome this generosity with goodwill and brotherly
feelings; and it creates loving effects. If, on the other hand, they are
treated with hard heartedness and greed, and are faced with danger to
their property, honor and life, they stand up to take their revenge from
their oppressors in any possible way. Those who have seen and heard about
those who swallow interest know that such people seldom escape the evil
effects of such confrontation. Often their properties are lost, their
houses are ruined and their endeavors go in vain.

It is necessary to mention here two
things:

First: The causes upon which social effects are based
differ from physical and creative causes in one important aspect. While
the perfect physical and creative causes can never fail to produce their
effects, social factors and causes bring about the expected result in
most, but not all, cases. We deal with someone in a certain manner and
expect those results which appear in the wake of that behavior - in most
cases.

If we ponder upon the Qur’anic verses which
describe the benefits and harms of the given actions, we shall find that
the Qur’an (when it shows the relation between actions and their causes,
and between actions and their effects) has adopted this very system, and
mentions a frequently recurring effect as an ever-recurring
one.

Second: Society is like an individual in
its various conditions and states. An individual is born, lives, dies,
acts and leaves his footprints on the sand of life. Likewise, a society
has its own birth, life, death, actions and effects. Allah says in the
Qur’an: And never did We destroy a
town but it had a fixed-term. No people can hasten on their doom nor can
they postpone (it) (15:4-5)

But an individual’s life and death are different
from a society’s, as are the effects of their respective activities. Now,
if an individual’s characteristic spreads to the whole of society, the
ways of its existence and extinction, as well as its effects will change
considerably. Let us look, for example, at chastity and licentiousness.
They have an effect on life, when they are found in an individual. People
generally look down upon a profligate man, they do not like to set up
marriage with him; his company is avoided and he is not trusted. It all
happens when it remains an individual’s vice, and if society on the whole
is free from this evil. But if this debauchery spreads in society, and
people become used to it, the above-mentioned effects simply vanish away.
Those effects were the product of general abhorrence and common distaste
of this evil; when it spreads to the whole of society, that abhorrence and
distaste give way to general acceptance. In this way, this effect
of. an individual’s immorality ceases to exist when that
immorality spreads to the whole of society. Yet its other evil effects
will surely follow: venereal disease will spread, reproduction will be
effected; and other undesirable social evils would increase - for example,
natural affinities will be destroyed and relationships will be
upset.

Also, the effects of a characteristic found in an
individual are felt very soon, while those of the same characteristic
found in a society take a longer time to appear.

Allah effaces interest and makes charities grow.
But there is a difference between an individual taking interest and a
society doing so. When an individual indulges in this sin, the interest
almost always destroys him; few and far between are the cases in which an
interest-taker, because of some other mitigating factors, escapes this
punishment. But retaliation is not so swift in case of a society wallowing
in interest. Look at today’s world: interest is a recognized institution
of all societies and governments; the economy is founded, and laws are
made, on the foundation of interest, and it is interest that is the
corner-stone of banking. Now some of the evil effects mentioned above may
not happen in this case, because society has adopted it and people never
pause to think about its evils and wickedness. Yet, its natural results
must follow: the accumulation of wealth on one side, and an all-pervasive
need on the other. Complete separation of, and confrontation between, the
two - the have and have-nots have already appeared; and its ill effects
are already darkening the world’s atmosphere. This has taken longer to
appear than in case of an individual; yet judging from the life-span of
society it has appeared rather soon. The life of society is different from
an individual’s; and a day for society may be equal to an eon in the eyes
of an individual. Allah says: and We bring these days to men by
turns (3:140).This “day”
refers to the time when people stand against people, nations against
nations, governments confronting governments, and states opposing
states.

It is necessary that man’s bliss be always cared
for, be it of an individual, of society or of the whole of humanity. The
Qur’an looks after both types of bliss - of an individual as well as of
the whole of mankind. It was sent down to manage the man’s affairs, and to
safeguard the world’s happiness and felicity - of the individual as well
as of the species, in the present day as well as in the time to
come.

Let us now look at the words of Allah: “Allah
effaces interest and He causes charities to grow”. These sentences
describe the ultimate state of these two activities - whether done by
individuals or by society. Effacement is the inseparable characteristic of
interest, as growth is that of charity. Interest is effaced, although it
is named ar-riba (growth) ; and charity continuously grows,
although it is not called by any such name. And to this reality Allah
draws our attention in these words: “Allah effaces interest, and He causes
charities to grow”; thus He attributes “growth” to charities of all kinds,
and describes interest ar-riba
(literally, growth) in a word,
effacement, which is its opposite in meaning.

After this explanation, the weakness of the
following interpretations of other exegetes becomes obvious:

1) Someone has written: the effacement of interest
does not mean that such money is lost or that such endeavors do not
succeed. Because experience proves otherwise. What is actually meant by
the sentence “Allah effaces interest” is that Allah de­prives the
interest-taker from the main objective of this activity. The
interest-taker aims at hoarding wealth through interest so that he may
enjoy a good life; but he never gets a chance to rejoice in his wealth, as
he remains too busy in adding money to money. Then he has to remain on
guard against defaulters; and ultimately he passes his days in
disappointment when he finds that he has become unpopular and is
especially hated by the poor.

The weakness of this interpretation is
obvious.

2) Other exegetes have said: The frame of
reference for this effacement is the life hereafter. The one who takes
interest neglects many good deeds because of his involvement in interest
and his many acts of worship are nullified because he uses money gained by
interest in them.

The author’s comment: No doubt, this explanation gives
examples of effacement. But effacement is not restricted to the life
hereafter.

3) The Mu’tazilites attempt to prove from the
words, “and whoever returns (to it) - these are the inmates of the Fire ;
they shall abide in it", that one who commits a major sin shall remain in
Hell for ever.

We have already shown the defect of this argument,
and described the true import of this sentence.

QUR’AN:And Allah does not love any ungrateful sinner:

“al­Kaffar” translated here as “ungrateful” is on a paradigm
which is used for emphasis. Thus, it means, “inveterately ungrateful”;
“abstinately unbelieving”.

This sentence gives the main reason of the
effacement of interest. The swallower of interest shows his obstinacy and
ingratitude for the countless bounties of Allah. He puts obstructions in
the natural path of human life, that is, in natural modes of dealing; he
rejects a major part of the rules about worship and mutual dealings; he
uses the unlawful money of interest for his food, drink, clothing and
housing, and in this way nullifies most of his acts of worship. Also, by
using that money in his commercial transactions, he invalidates most of
his dealings and usurps others’ property, and the liability for such
things remains on his own head. Further, he tramples ethical values under
foot. remains immersed in greed and avarice, becomes hard-hearted and uses
force and coercion to collect from his debtors what he thinks is his due.
In this way, all his faculties and actions are submerged in disbelief and
ingratitude. And also he is “athim” that is, sin is ingrained in
his nature. And Allah does not love him, because He does not love anyone
sunk in ingratitude, sin and disbelief.

QUR’AN:Surely they who believe . . . nor shall they
grieve:

It is a general principle - those who believe and
obey the divine law, “they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve “.
This general rule fits those who spend in charities and desist from
swallowing interest, which Allah has forbidden.

QUR’AN:0 you who believe! fear Allah
and forgo what remains (due) from interest, if you are believers:

The verse addresses them with their attribute of
belief and faith, and then reminds them to fear Allah. It prepares the
ground for the order which follows, “and forgo what remains (due) from
interest”. It shows that when these verses were revealed, there were some
believers who indulged in this sin and their debtors still owned them some
interest payments. Therefore, Allah ordered them to forgo that amount.
This order was followed by the threat “But if you do (it) not, then be
apprised of war from Allah and His Apostle”.

It supports the tradition (to be quoted later)
which gives the reason why these verses were revealed.

The verse ends on the words, “if you are
believers”. This shows that desisting from interest is an inseparable
characteristic of belief. It puts more emphasis on the preceding
sentences: “and whoever returns (to it) - these are the inmates of the
Fire. . . “, and “Allah does not love any ungrateful (unbeliever) sinner”.

QUR’AN:But if you do (it) not,
then he apprised of war from Allah and His Apostle:

“al-Idhn” means to know. “Fa’dhanu”
(be apprised, know) has also been recited as fa’adhinu
(announce) imperative mood of al-‘idhan (to announce). The
preposition “bi” in “bi harbin" (= of war) gives the meaning
of certainty. The meaning thus shall be: Be sure of war from Allah and His
Apostle. “War” is used as a common noun, to hint that it shall be a great
war, or to refer to various kinds of war. The war is attributed to Allah
and His Apostle because it is in connection with a law which was
legislated by Allah and promulgated by His Apostle. Had it been connected
with Allah only, it would have been a creative decree. So far as His
Apostle is concerned, he is not independent of Allah in any affair; Allah
says: you have no concern in the affair (3:128).

How do Allah and His Apostle wage war with one who
does not obey a law? They fight with such a disobedient Muslim to compel
him to submit to divine authority, as is declared in the Qur’an: . . .
then fight that (party) which acts wrongfully until it returns
to Allah’s command (49:9).

Moreover, Allah has another way of defending His
laws; and that is fighting against the offenders through the agency of
nature. He lets the masses flare up against them; and in this way their
lands are devastated and their footprints obliterated. Allah says: And
when We wish to destroy a town, We send Our commandment to the people of
it who lead easy lives, but they transgress therein; thus the word proves
true against it, so We destroy it with utter destruction (17:16).

QUR’AN: And if (the debtor) is in
straitened circumstances, then let there be respite until (he is in)
ease:

“Kana” (is) in the beginning of the verse
has not been used as an auxiliary verb: it is an independent verb and
means “exists”; “an-nazirah “ is respite, a moratorium.
“al-Maysarah” (is ease, affluence); it is the opposite of
“al-‘usrah” (straitened circumstances).

The verse says: If there is one of your debtors
who is at present unable to repay your loan, then give him respite until
he is affluent enough to repay it.

The verse is general and not restricted to the
loan given with interest, although it covers such cases also. They used to
demand repayment when the stipulated time came; if the debtor was not in a
position to pay, he asked for some more time, agreeing to pay more
interest. The verse forbids this interest, and tells the creditor to give
his debtor respite until he is in ease.

QUR’AN:and that you remit (it) as
alms is better for you, if you knew:

If you forego the loan and remit it as charity, it
shall be better for you; because by this remittance you will change into
charity what you intended to increase through interest; in other words,
you will change what was sure to be effaced with what is sure to grow many
times.

QUR’AN:And fear the day . . . and they shall not be dealt
with unjustly:

This is the epilogue of the preceding verses of
interest; it reminds the believers of the Day of Resurrection, and
mentions some of its aspects which are relevant to this topic. The verse
prepares the audience to fear Allah and desist from the things forbidden
by Allah, especially concerning the people’s rights upon which whole
edifice of life is founded. It says that a day is coming in which you
shall be returned to Allah and then every soul shall be paid back in full
what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.

What is the meaning of being returned to Allah
while we are never far from Him? And what is this “paying back in full”?
We shall explain it, God willing, in the sixth chapter (The
Cattle).

It has been said that this verse was the last one
to be revealed to the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.a.). A tradition to this
effect will be found in the following discussion.

TRADITIONS

There is a tradition in at-Tafsir of al-Qummi, under the verse: “Those who swallow
down interest...", that as-Sadiq (a.s.) said that the Messenger of Allah
(s.a.w.a.) said : “When I was taken to the heavens, I saw such a group
that if any of them wanted to stand up, he could not do so, because of the
bulkiness of his stomach. I said: ‘Who are they, O Gabriel?’ He said:
‘These are they who swallow up interest; they cannot stand except as one
whom Satan has confounded with (his) touch stands; and lo! they are on the
path of the people of Pharaoh; they are exposed to the Fire in morning and
at night, and they say: “Our Lord! when shall the Hour come?' "
"

The author says: It is an illustrative example
pertaining to the period between death and resurrection. It confirms the
Prophet’s words: “As you live, so shall you die; and as you die, so shall
you be raised.”

al-Isbahani has narrated, in his at-Targhib, from Anas (ibn Malik) that he said: “The Messenger
of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: ‘The swallower of interest shall come on the Day
of Resurrection, confounded, dragging both his sides.’ Saying it, he
recited: they cannot stand except as one whom Satan has confounded with
(his) touch stands." (ad-Durru ‘l-manthur)

The author says: There have come numerous traditions about the
punishment for interest, both from Shi’ah and Sunni chains. Some of them
say that interest is equal to seventy acts of incest the swallower of
interest would have committed with his mother.

There is a tradition in at-Tahdhib, that
‘Umar ibn Yazid Bayya‘ as-Sabiri said: “I said to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) :
‘May I be your ransom! Verily, people say that taking profit from a
“needy” person is unlawful.’ He said: ‘Have you seen anyone, whether rich
or poor, purchasing anything unless he “needs” it? 0 ‘Umar! Allah has
allowed trade and forbidden interest. Therefore, take profit; but do not
take interest.’ I said: ‘And what is interest?’ He said: ‘Dirhams by
dirhams, two against one; and wheat by wheat, double (weight) against
single (weight).’ "

‘Ubayd ibn Zurarah narrates from Abu ‘Abdillah
(a.s.) that he said : “There is no interest except in that which is
measured or weighed.” (Man la yahduruhu ‘l-faqih)

The author says: There is a difference of opinion as to which
things are liable to interest. It is the madhhab of Ahlu ‘l-bayt
(a.s.) that there is no interest except in gold and silver and those
things which are measured or weighed. Further details are beyond the scope
of this book, as the topic concerns Islamic jurisprudence.

There is a tradition in al-Kafi from one of
the two Imams (al-Baqir or as-Sadiq - a.s.) and in at-Tafsir of
al-‘Ayyashi from as-Sadiq (a.s.) about the words of Allah: To whomsoever
then the admonition has come from his Lord, that he said: “The admonition is
repentance.”

Muhammad ibn Muslim said: “There came to Abu
‘Abdillah (a.s.) a man from Khurasan who had dealt with interest till he
had amassed a fortune. ‘He asked the scholars of jurisprudence, and they
said: No deed of yours shall be accepted until you return it (the
interest) to its owners.’ Then he came to Abu Ja’far (a.s.) and told him
his story. Abu Ja’far (a.s.) said : ‘Your way out is the verse from the
Book of Allah, Mighty and Great is He! To whomsoever then the admonition has come from
his Lord, then he desists, for him shall be what has already passed, and
his affair rests with Allah’. Then he (the Imam) said: ‘Admonition is
repentance.’ " (at-Tahdhib)

There is a tradition in al-Kafi and Man la
yahduruhu ‘l-faqih that as-Sadiq
(a.s.) said: “Every interest which people swallowed because of ignorance,
and then they repented, it shall be accepted from them when the repentance
is known from them.” And he said : “If a man inherits a property from his
father, and he knows that that property includes interest, but it is mixed
up with (the money of) trade, then it is lawful for him; so let him
consume it. And if he recognizes something of it (interest) then he should
keep his principal and return the excess.”

A tradition is narrated in Man la yahduruhu
‘l-faqih and ‘Uyunu ‘l-akhbar from ar-Rida (a.s.) : “It
(interest) is a major sin, after explanation.” And he said: “And to treat
it as a small matter is to enter into disbelief.”

The Imam was asked about a man who consumes
interest thinking that it is lawful. He said : “There is no harm for him
in it until he takes it on purpose (i.e. knowing that it is unlawful).
When he indulges in it on purpose, then he shall be (liable) to the place
which Allah has mentioned.” (al-Kafi)

It is reported in al-Kafi and Man
la yahduruhu ‘l-faqih
that as-Sadiq (a.s.) was asked
about the words of Allah: Allah effaces interest, and He causes
charities to grow. . . , and was told (by the one who asked): “I have
seen (many a man) who swallows interest and his wealth increases.” He (the
Imam) said: “What effacement could be more effective than that of the
dirham of interest? It obliterates religion; and if he repented, his
wealth would go and he would become poor.”

The author says: The tradition, as you see, explains
effacement in terms of religious obliteration - he does not become owner
of that property and he is not allowed to use it. Charity is just its
opposite in these respects. This tradition does not go against the general
meaning of effacement which we have written earlier.

‘Ali (a.s.) said : “The Messenger of Allah
(s.a.w.a.) has cursed five persons concerned with interest: the one who
consumes (i.e. takes) it, the one who gives it to be consumed, its two
witnesses and its writer.” (Majma’u ‘l-bayan)

The author says: The same thing has been narrated in
ad-Durru ‘l-manthur
from the Holy Prophet through
several chains.

There is a tradition in at-Tafsir of al-‘Ayyashi from al-Baqir (a.s.) that he said:
“Allah, High is He, has said: ‘I have given (some) authority to others
(i.e. angels etc.) about things, except charity, because I take hold of it
with My (own) hand. So much so that a man or a woman gives half a date in
alms, and I nurture it for him as one of you nurtures his calf and colt;
until I shall leave (i.e., return) it on the Day of Resurrection (and it
shall be) bigger than the (mountain) of Uhud.’ "

The same book quotes ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be
on them both) narrating from the Prophet that he said: “Verily, Allah
nurtures the alms for one of you, as one of you brings up his child; until
he (the alms-giver) shall find it on the Day of Resurrection, and it shall
be like Uhud.”

The author says: The matter has been narrated also
through a Sunni chain from many companions like Abu Hurayrah, ‘A'ishah,
Ibn ‘Umar, Abu Barzah al-Aslami, all from the Prophet.

It is written in at-Tafsir of al-Qummi that when Allah sent down (the verse)
: Those who swallow down interest.
. ., Khalid ibn al-Walid stood up
before the Messenger of Allah and said: “0 Messenger of Allah! My father
lent (money) with interest in the (tribe of) Thaqif, and he told me at the
time of his death to collect it. Thereupon Allah revealed: 0 you who believe! fear Allah and forgo what
remains (due) from it. . .”

The author says: Nearly the same thing has
been narrated in Majma‘u ‘l-bayan
from al-Baqir (a.s.)

as-Suddi and ‘Ikrimah have said: (This verse) was
revealed about the balance of interest due to al-‘Abbas and Khalid ibn
al-Walid; they were partners in pre-Islamic days, they lent with interest
to some people of Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Umayr, a clan of the (tribe of) Thaqif.
Then came Islam, and they had great riches in interest. Thereupon, Allah
revealed this verse. So the Prophet said: “Now, surely every interest of
the pre-Islamic days is waived, and the first interest which I waive is
that of al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib; and all the blood of pre-Islamic
days is waived, and the first blood which I waive is that of Rabi ‘ah ibn
al-Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib.” (He was given to Banu Layth for suckling
and was killed by Banu Hudhayl.) (Majma ‘u ‘l-bayan )

The author says: This has been narrated in
ad-Durru ‘l-manthur
from Ibn Jarir, Ibnu ‘l-Mundhir
and Ibn Abi Hatim from as-Suddi. But there the name of Khalid is not
mentioned openly. It says that it was revealed about al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd
al-Muttalib and a man from Banu al-Mughirah.

Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi (who has said that it is
correct), an-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Ibn Abi Hatim and al-Bayhaqi (in his as­Sunan) have narrated from
‘Amr ibn al-Ahwas that he participated in the last pilgrimage with the
Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) ; so he (the Messenger of Allah) said: “Now
surely every interest of the days of ignorance is waived, you shall have
your capital, neither shall you deal unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with
unjustly." (ad-Durru ‘l-manthur)

The author says: There are numerous traditions with a
similar meaning. What is deduced from Shi’ah and Sunni traditions is that
the verse was revealed about some interest money which Banu al-Mughirah
had due from Thaqif; and they used to lend money to them with interest in
the pre-Islamic days of ignorance. When Islam came, Banu al-Mughirah
demanded from Thaqif the balance which was due; they refused to pay
(interest) because Islam had waived it. Their case was put before the
Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) ; then this verse was revealed.

It supports what we have mentioned in the General
Comment that interest was prohibited in Islam long before these verses
were revealed; and that the aim of these verses was to emphasize that
prohibition.

With this background, those few traditions which
say that the law prohibiting interest was revealed in the last days of the
Apostle of Allah, and that he died before he could explain the rules
concerning interest are not worthy of interest. Such traditions are
reported in ad-Durru ‘l-manthur, through Ibn Jarir and Ibn
Marduwayh from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab that he said in a lecture “Among the
last verses to be revealed was that of interest; and the Apostle of Allah
died and he had not explained it to us. Therefore, leave what seems
doubtful to you for what is not doubtful to you.”

Moreover, it is the madhhab of the Imams of Ahlu ‘l-bayt that Allah did not give death to His Prophet until
He had legislated all that was needed by people for their religious
affairs, and until His Prophet had explained it all to his
people.

It is reported in ad-Durru ‘l-manthur through several chains from Ibn ‘Abbas, as-Suddi,
‘Atiyyah al-‘Awfi, Abu Salih and Sa’id ibn Jubayr that the last verse to
be revealed was: And fear the day in which . . . shall not be dealt with
unjustly.

as-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “Much stress was laid on the
prohibition of interest so that people should not refrain from doing good
through loan or charity.” (Majma’u ‘l-bayan)

The same book narrates from ‘Ali (a.s.): “When
Allah intends to destroy a town, interest appears among them.”

The author says: The earlier comments make the
meanings of these traditions clear.

The author of Majma’u ‘l-bayan writes under the verse, “And if (the debtor) is in
straitened circumstances, then let there be respite until (he is in)
ease”: “There is a difference of opinion regarding the definition of
straitened circumstances. And it has been narrated from Abu ‘Abdillah
(a.s.) that he said: ‘It is when he does not have anything in excess of
his own sustenance and that of his dependants, in the sense of economics.’
. . . to give respite to a poor man is compulsory in every religion, as is
nar­rated from Ibn ‘Abbas, ad-Dahhak and al-Hasan; and similar
traditions have come from Abu Ja’far and Abu ‘Abdillah (peace be upon them
both). al-Baqir (a.s.) said: ‘Until (he is in) ease’, means, until his
report reaches the Imam; then the Imam shall repay (on his behalf) out of
the share of ‘those in debt’, provided he had spent that loan on lawful
expenses.”

as-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “The Messenger of Allah
ascended the pulpit one day; he thanked Allah and praised Him and asked
for His blessings on His prophets, and then said: ‘O people! he who is
present should convey (it) to him who is absent. Now, whoever gives
respite to a poor person, Allah shall credit him every day with charity
equal to his money (given in loan), until he recovers it.' " Then Abu
‘Abdillah (as-Sadiq - a.s.) said: “And if (the debtor) is in
straitened circumstances, then let there be respite until (he is in)
ease; and that you remit (it) as alms is better for you, if you
knew that he is in straitened circumstances, then give him your money
(principle) as alms, as it is better for you.” (al-Kafi)

The author says: This tradition explains the divine
words “if you knew”; and its other meaning has been mentioned earlier. The
tradition on this and related subjects are very numerous; and the reader
is advised to refer to the chapters concerning loans in the books of
Islamic jurisprudence.